Day 4 Mid Evening - Searching for Clues [Closed]

After pocketing as many pieces of what is left of Ser Hugo's lance, Edmund starts back towards his pavilion tent. When he gets there, he lays out the pieces on a table and studies them more closely, seeing if any of the fragments join together and getting a clearer idea of the qualities of the shattered lance.

He decides to investigate Ser Hugo further. He changes out of his noble clothes in something more non-descript, he leaves behind his Braavosi blade and arms himself with a simple dagger. Wearing a cloak, he steps out into the cool night air.

Edmund makes his way indirectly from his tent towards Ser Hugo's and, upon arrival he stays at some distance, andbegins looking for evidence of whether or not anyone is inside as well as getting a sense for the crowds in the area at this time of night.


[OOC: Not sure of the rolls you'd like here Reader, if any]

[Reader]

[busy - many have retired to their tents or just outside the. post the joust, to recuperate, gamble and carouse.

Tent is occupied by at least two figures.

Deception (disguise) for your, uh disguise
Awareness to try to spot clues at a distance
Then you can try stealth (or you can try just approaching and searching, then running off in your disguise if challenged] followed by awareness for a more thorough search or even brazenly approaching Ser Hugo]

Comfortable with his disguise in the busy crowd, Edmund intially keeps his distance and prepares to spend a few moments for any clues as to who is in the tent, or for anything out of the ordinary. Best not rush into a situation recklessly., he thinks as he inconspicuously watches the entry to Ser Hugo's tent.

He does know that time may be short and that he may need to move soon in order to find evidence to support his suspicions.


[url=Disguise][/url]: 6d6k5 25

[url=Spotting clues (distance)][/url]: 4d4+3 15
***Edit- thanks to Jon Cobb for noticing that I rolled wrong. The freaky thing is I got the same exact result!
[url=Searching from a distance][/url]: 4d6+3 15

[Reader]

[2 DoS on Awareness -There is a row of lances in a stand beside the tent, a mixture of unpainted heavy war lances and longer tourney lances. Unusual, but not unique. Many knights favour their own familiar lances, and carry a war lance for the road. Ser Tom of Bradywine is notorious for travelling with an array of customised lances, provided by his bickering squire and page]

Inside the tent, you can make out a taller figure gesticulating at a shorter figure. The tall figure does not look broad enough to be Ser Hugo. The evening's revelry is such that your ears are not keen enough to make out what's said.

Obvious options include sneaking closer to try to listen/get a better look, or to try to get close enough to inspect the lances. A cautious man may simply trust to his impenetrable disguise, and wait for one or both of the figures to abandon the tent]

I can most likely examine the lances later, butI need to identify those in the tent as soon as I can. He is unable to suppress the slight smile that plays across his mouth. Now this is the game I prefer.

Edmund decides to move close enough to Ser Hugo's tent in the hope that he may see or hear whoever may be inside. He is cautious and prepared to quickly blend in to the crowds if necessary.

[Reader]

Although Ser Edmund has been away from Westeros for some years, he thinks he can make out a Blackwood, either Ser Tyron or Lord Blackwood, making threatening gestures at Ser Hugo's Squire. Would that he had not been away from Westeros so long! Perhaps then he would have a better chance of making the man out, but with the suspected Blackwood's back turned, he has nothing more to go on than height, the characteristic slender frame and their famous deep black hair.

Given the singing and dancing after the day's jousting, he is still not quite close enough to make out what is being said, but it is clear that the Blackwood is angry with the squire.

Knowing time is short, Edmund begins moving towards the back if Ser Hugo's tent. I need to hear that conversation... With the crowds and noise, it was fairly easy to move without drawing attention to himself.

The revelry of the tourney is if full effect as knights and ladies, squires, servants and commoners, all mix together. The is a sense of energy in the air and wine and ale is clearly in abundance.

Edmund pulls his hood a bit closer and moves between some of the large and ornate pavilions and then behind Ser Hugo's tent. Sticking to the shadows he does his best to filter out the background noise to focus on the conversation inside.


[url=Sneaking][/url]: 5d6k4 16

[url=Eavesdropping][/url]: 5d6k4+3 26

[Reader]

"
...couldn't even last long enough to carry out his orders."


"
The payment is forfeit unless Ser Hugo can do as required. He has one final chance in the melee."


With that the speaker, now revealed as Ser Tyron Blackwood, turns from the tent and strides past the nondescript man that lurks outside, hearing both too much and yet not enough.

[OOC: both rolls pass!]

[Reader]

[Awareness test please, with -1D penalty for low light]

[url=Awareness][/url]: 4d6k3+3 14

[Reader]

You notice a cloaked figure in the darkness, who seems to be returning from the castle and returning to the pavilions. Your eyes are sharp enough to spot the figure, where many others would not. However, it is too dark to quite make out the figure's identity.

[OOC: cunning test TN 12 please to get a clue.

You can call out to the figure and alert him/her if you wish]

OOC: [url=Eavesdropping][/url]: 5d6k4+3 26[/quote]

I made a mistake here, didn't double check char sheet and just realized that I don't have the baonus die for Notice. So, I think my roll should've only been 4d6+3. So, I drop my highest die (6) as a stupid penalty, making my roll a 20.

Sorry, Reader.
------
Now, back to the narrative...
IC:

Edmund had just been schemeing a way to enter the pavilion and interrogate who he assumed was Ser Hugo's squire, he takes note of an individual make their way towards the area.

He squints his eyes trying to make the figure out...

[url=Cunning][/url]: 3d6 11

Confident that his disguise is sufficient and that he will be able to pass himself off as a simple commoner, he decides to try throwing his voice to get the individuals attention and hopefully reveal more of their face so he can get a better look.

"
Say there, you!"


[url=Throw Voice][/url]: 5d6k4 11

[Reader]

The figure stops and turns, not to where you threw your voice, but to look directly at you. The figure's face is completely shadowed in darkness. You hear steel slowly drawn from a scabbard, but the figure does not move to attack. They turn and continue on their way. A fair warning, perhaps, that some should mind their own business.

[OOC: the figure rolls 14 on its intimidate check, simple intrigue to get you to back off so it can beetle away, Will (Courage) TN 14 to follow with any conviction]

[url=Find some backbone][/url]: 3d6 11

Blast!, Edmund thinks as he comes to a halt when the shadowy figure draws a blade. That went well....

He slowly raises his hands, palms forward as he attempts to display a non-threatening posture. He calls out, more quietly and calmly this time, and with a hint of a slur to his voice. "
Apologies, friend. I merely thought you were someone I knew."


He takes a cautious step forward, trying to make it look a bit wobbly, "
I've heard of a party."
Edmund says, looking around him, and gesturing broadly with his hands. "
It's supposed to be somewhere near these pavilions. I think."


He takes another small step, "
Sigil is..."
, he says, feigning a memory lapse. "
I think the sigil is, red and blue? With a spear running down the middle?"
He rubs his temple, "
By the Seven! What was the knights name? Ser Grenn? Ser...Goddard?

He shuffles forward again, then asks, "
Can you point me in the right direction, friend?"

[Reader]

[OOC: the figure had disappeared in to the shadows as Ser Edmund approached.

- awareness (notice) TN 14, -2D for darkness to spot him.
- Before you make the roll above, you may test Cunning TN (9), gaining +1B to the roll above for every DoS, as you use analysis to determine where your quarry has gone]

[url=Cunning to track mystery person][/url]: 3d6 11 1 DoS
[url=Awareness to follow mysterious person][/url]: 5d6k2 9 Impossible roll to hit for Edmund, but he had to try
OOC EDIT: If it is possible to use a DP (and add my bonus from WDI) to keep an extra die, Baelon pointed out that this would be a success at 15 after all.

IC: Edmund moves to locate the mysterious person, but soon realizes that whoever it was has disappeared into the night. Cursing under his breath, he turns back towards Ser Hugo's tent to resume gathering information for Kevan.

He moves quickly in through the tent door, attempting to maintain his disguise and seeking to quickly overwhelm who he assumes to be Ser Hugo's squire. Time is short as Ser Hugo could return at any moment and he is a bit frustrated from being unable to keep track of whoever that person may have been.

[url=Disguise][/url]: 6d6l5 13
OOC EDIT: Baelon also pointed out that I mistyped the roll. Looks like accidentally used 'l5' instead of 'k5' and so kept the lowest instead of highest.
It should be a 16, which is a small but significant difference.

Wow, I really messed those rolls up. On the awareness, if you let me keep it, I'll re-write that part. If not, at least I have a better disguise roll upon entering the tent. Really sorry Reader (and players).


IC: Edmund hopes that being relatively unknown around the tourney so far will aid him in his deception.

[Reader]

[OOC: No problem, and thanks to Baelon for helping on the rolls. Please mark the spent DP on your character sheet, but remember you get one back at the end of D4]

You search through the darkness, trying to divine where the cloaked figure has gone. Finally, you reach the edge of the Tourney Grounds and follow the long tall wall that marks the edge of the town.

"
Well now."
comes a voice from above you. "
I admire curiosity, tenacity and bravery."


Crouching on the high wall is the dark figure you sought, peering down like a gargoyle. Had the figure not spoken, you might have walked right past them. The voice is male, soft and resonant. It is pitched to carry to your ears, but not much farther.

"
You are no commoner. Commoners flee or run to the guard."
says the figure. "
You are a spy. Not a good one. Professionals stay on task and aren't distracted. You wanted something? Don't waste my time with dissembling. I'm in a good mood. That will change if you insult my intelligence again."
"

Edmund comes to a halt at the sound of the voice above him and smiles.

He turns slightly, trying to keep his own face hooded somewhat.

"
Well, you've got some of it right. I am certainly curious."
he says calmly. "
I noticed you in the crowd, your clandestine movements, and my curiosity was piqued. What can I say?"
he says, a hint of amusement in his tone as he squints his eyes at the figure. "
I love the game."


[url=(Awareness) Make out details of mystery man][/url]: 4d6k2+3 12

[Reader]

[OOC: 1 shy of seeing through part of the disguise!]

The figure chuckles. "
Curiosity is a trait we have in common, which is why I let you catch me. I too love games. Let's play."


"
Here are the rules. Each may ask the other a question in turn. If it a good question, the other shall try to answer it honestly. You will have to trust me, and I will have to trust you that it is so. People who meet in the dark should never lie to each other. There is more than enough opportunity for people to lie to each other in the light. If it is a bad question, such as 'Who are you?' the game shall end immediately. We each may have three questions, then we shall part, perhaps both wiser for the encounter. You may go first. Is that agreeable?"

Edmund smiles at the faceless shadow, nodding in acceptance. He thinks for a moment before asking his first question.

"
Are you a player or a pawn here?"

[Reader]

The faceless figure gives a low chuckle. "
Interesting question. A philosophical one, or a literal one? The honest answer is that I am both. I move others, others move me. Tonight I am the player, for I move others by my own will and for my own agenda. Tomorrow night will be different, where I may dance to another's tune. We are all pieces on the board, but I think we both deserve more credit than that of a mere pawn. A rook or Knight at least."


"
My turn...

You could not have been looking for me. I did not know I would be here. You were looking for something else. What is it that you sought tonight before I distracted you?"

He replies honestly, "
I was searching for evidence. Evidence of deceit in the tourney. Deceit that could harm those that I love."


"
I would ask you the same, what errand did I interrupt of yours?"

[Reader]

"
Yes. I had noticed the... inconsistencies in the tourney. There's always a degree if cheating at events such as this. This tourney has been particularly bad. I would follow the money. There is a great deal of wagering going on. The evidence will either lie in money, ambition, or politics. Money is always a good start."


The figure speaks in short clipped sentences, but a longer conversation has given a better chance of determining its identity.

[Awareness: TN (9) for another clue, no penalties as this is based on sound]

"
As to your question, the short answer is you did not interrupt my business. My business was completed. Had it not been, we would not be talking now. I will not tell you what that business was, as the matter is settled and I am bound by agreement to silence. I hold to my agreements, both then and now."

[url=Voices][/url]: 4d6+3 23 Ka blamo!

[placeholder]

[Reader]

It is the voice of a young man, perhaps a newly made knight or squire given the tourney.

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